


Cascade

by alessandralee



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-22
Updated: 2013-11-22
Packaged: 2018-01-02 07:32:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1054140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alessandralee/pseuds/alessandralee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He’s on the rescue boat, after having held her unconscious form while treading water for an hour, when his heart stops beating a mile a minute. The fear dissipates, but something else begins.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cascade

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OpenPandorasBox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OpenPandorasBox/gifts).



He doesn’t take much notice of it the first time. The builds in his chest, reaching a fever pitch when he realizes the cargo bay is open, and she must have jumped. He throws himself after her an, fortunately, he makes in time. He’s on the rescue boat, after having held her unconscious form while treading water for an hour, when his heart stops beating a mile a minute. The fear dissipates, but something else begins.

He finds himself studying her constantly. Years of training and field experience have taught him to take note of everyone and everything, but this goes above and beyond. He notices the way her eyes light at the prospect of learning something new, even if a trip into the field ultimately means picking up Asgardian debris.

And he notices an uncertainty in her, a hesitation. That’s a new development, if not a surprising one, given the circumstances. He urges her to face her fears, hoping that the occasional smile or encouragement can push her forward. And, secretly, he worries that if she stays scared, she’ll give up her love of adventure. She’ll lose the very thing that’s keeping her near him. He tells himself that it’s because he sees a kindred, bruised spirit. Still, it’s a power concern, because even as a monstrous rage burns through his body, he’s kinder to her than he is to Skye or Fitz.

She faces her fears, ultimately, and he gets to watch her embrace more adventures. She joins him and May on her first field mission. They track down an alien, kidnapped and held in stasis by a group of fringe scientists. Jemma is needed to revive the extra-terrestrial. At one point, he presses a gun into her hands, hoping she won’t actually need to use it, that he and May won’t be too distracted to protect her. She balks at the metal in her hands, but ultimately pushes down her nerves and takes it. Because Jemma Simmons always rises to the occasion. He swears to himself that it’s perfectly normal for him to notice and appreciate that. He has to be prepared for anything in the field, she just makes his job easier.

There’s another incident, and this time he wishes he’d thought to give her a gun. She’s stabbed in the thigh by a cult member, during what should have been a routine drop off at one SHIELD’s secure facilities. He’s not unfamiliar with blood; in fact he’s more familiar with it than most. He knows with a glance that her injuries aren’t life threatening. Still he finds his actions on autopilot, with his mind focuses on her. He works his way through man after man until he’s reached her and pulled her to safety. He doesn’t let go of her until they’ve reached a hospital. When he finally snaps out of it, he’s shaken by it, but still tries to chalk it up to concern for a teammate.

They’re in London, and with just a few hours of time to themselves, while Coulson confers with a team of astronomers, Jemma decides to meet up with an old schoolmate. Grant allows Skye to convince him and Fitz to tag along, and see “what Jemma’s like off the clock.” He knows it’s spying, and that she’ll be angry if she finds out, but he doesn’t even put up much of a fight. So they sit across the cage from Jemma and a tall, dark-skinned woman, and watch them talk. He spends the whole of two hours trying to read their lips, even after Skye and Fitz get bored and the conversation turns to computers. Unfortunately for Grant, there’s a well-placed fern blocking his view of the conversation. Jemma catches them and berates them for it before giving all of them, even Fitz, the silent treatment. Grant can’t find a way to write this incident off, so he tried his best to pretend it never happened.

It all comes to a head during a mission in Mexico. They’re all running from assailants when Simmons, refusing to abandon a case of plant samples, falls behind. Grant doubles back to find her, and she’s managed to expertly hide herself in the undergrowth and go unseen. Grant is not so lucky. A bullet grazes his arm before he and Jemma manage to hide themselves again.

Luckily, while hiding under some fallen trees, Jemma spots a cave that would make a more solid hiding spot. She leads him there, and immediately pulls his shirt off to look at his wound. She determines that he’ll need stitches when they get back to The Bus, but says that, for now, she’ll only be able to bandage it up. When she begins tearing his shirt up for makeshift bandages, the scenario is such a cliché that he begins to laugh. She shoots him a strange look and continues to do her work.

When she’s done, and they’ve determined there’s no one nearby looking for them, she uses her comm link to give Fitz their coordinates. He responds that there still might be danger in the area, but the team should arrive within the hour. 

That’s an hour of waiting, something that Grant, for all his years of practice, still struggles with. He briefly considers trying to track down the team himself, but rejects the notion after realizing he’d be too obvious with her accompanying him. Jemma is chatting happily with him about the technology that allows the team to communicate with them so far off the grid, but he can tell that, for all her perkiness, Jemma is still nervous. So her forces himself to sit up so that he can comfort her. Immediately, she’s grabbing onto him and helping him up.

“Slowly, slowly. Remember, that’s arms going to need stitches. You need to be more careful with it.”

He stills, and her momentum propels her into his lap. With him sitting and her straddling his legs, their eyes are nearly level. It crosses his mind that, in order to kiss her, all he’d need to do is lean forward a few inches. So he does, before he can remind himself that he only cares about her as a teammate.

She pulls back a little at first, clearly not expecting that. For a moment, he tells himself that he’ll find a way to blame this on the blood loss.

But then she’s leaning back in and returning his kiss. All thoughts of excuses drop from Grant’s mind. Her right hand slides from his shoulder to his chest and her left hand firmly grips his elbow, taking care so avoid his injury.

At this point, it’s impossible for him to continue denying his feelings. A pleasant warmth buzzes through his body and he pulls her closer, the dull throbbing in his arm not really registering. He’s spent all these months trying to bury his feelings, convince himself they didn’t exists. And now, as he lets the truth crash over him, he only regrets waiting so long to act on them.


End file.
